Summary:

  • European indices post declines on the final trading session of the week

  • Monetary authorities sent EURUSD below the 1.16 handle

  • Some US data scheduled for release today

The landscape after the decisions of the world’s two most important central banks is blur. Hawkish Fed turned out to be hurdle for stocks in US as it is set to continue with a  gradual rate hike path. On the other hand, ECB signalled that the rates will be left unchanged at least until mid-2019. As a result we are observing EURUSD at depressed levels. However, as the ECB decision boosted European shares yesterday we are witnessing some sort of a pullback today. EUR and GBP advance significantly while the NZD and SEK show weakness.

Most of the major cryptocurrencies are trading lower on the day yet it is worth to note that many coins advanced overnight thanks to some positive remarks from one of the SEC officials. The capitalization of the whole market still sits well below the $300 billions yet it managed to climb back above the $280 billion mark. Some analysts claim that the latest slump in Bitcoin price that  could have been caused by the expiration of Bitcoin futures.

Stocks seem to be the only class of assets benefiting from the yesterday’s ECB decision where the bank decided to postpone the first deposit rate hike “at least until summer 2019”. This was the most bearish point in the statement, and the euro tumbled in the aftermath even as inflation projections for this and following year were revised up notably.

The Bank of Japan was the last one among ’big three’ taking decision regarding monetary policy this week. Even as it was expected to be a non-event, it’s worth taking a closer look at some details outlined by BoJ members. Obviously all settings on monetary policy were untouched including a target for the 10-year JGB yield staying around 0%.

The US dollar has performed the best so far this week comparing to its major peers in G10. However, as the week is slowly coming to an end some may scratch their head whether those gains are maintainable, and a set of releases from the US may provide an answer.